1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of verifying a storage device and a memory controller in a system (verification circuit) in which a plurality of master devices access a common storage region.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a system in which a conventional verification method is performed. In FIG. 4, a CPU (central processing unit) 1 controls respective units of the system, and also operates as one of master devices. Master devices 2 and 3 are connected to a CPU bus 10. A memory 4 is a storage device connected to the CPU bus 10 via a memory controller 9. A resister 5 is a storage device within a module 1 connected to the CPU bus 10. A register 6 is a storage device also connected to the CPU bus 10.
In verification of the storage devices and the memory controller 9, there sometimes occurs as a verification item that a master device writes data in the memory 4, and thereafter the CPU 1 reads the data stored in the memory 4. In such a case, in order to check that the data written by the master device equals the data read by the CPU 1, the written data is explicitly stored within a test program, and the test program compares the stored data with the read data. Similarly, in verification of the other storage device 5 or 6, data written from each master device (data that must be stored in the storage device) is managed and stored in an individual test program.
The above-described case may happen in all combinations of a master device and a storage device (the same master device may write data and thereafter read the data, or data may be consecutively written in or read from the same storage device). Even when executing only one test program, management of data is considerably complicated, and a plurality of test programs must be simultaneously executed depending on an object to be verified. In such a case, interference among the test programs must be taken into consideration, resulting in more complicated management.
Accordingly, it is inefficient to individually manage data stored in a storage device in each test program, and each test program must independently manage data stored in the storage device, resulting in an increase in the amount of description in the test program, and greater inefficiency.